During this past off-season, the Carolina Hurricanes traded Jake Guentzel's UFA signing rights to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2025 third-round pick. Quickly after, the star forward signed a seven-year, $63 million contract with the Lightning.
Given how well Guentzel played during his time as a rental with the Hurricanes, their hope was to keep him around. However, they could not come to terms on a deal, so they got an asset for him rather than losing him for nothing in free agency.
Guentzel had plenty of success in his first regular-season with the Lightning in 2024-25. In 80 games with the Atlantic Division squad, he posted 41 goals, 80 points, and a plus-18 rating. Now, he is making an impact for Tampa Bay in the playoffs.
Guentzel had a big performance in the Lightning's Game 3 matchup against the Florida Panthers, as he recorded one goal, two assists, and a plus-4 rating. The Lightning undoubtedly benefited from Guentzel's strong night, too, as they defeated the Panthers by a 5-1 final score.
Guentzel's multi-point game came at a great time for the Bolts, too. If the Lightning had lost this matchup against the Panthers, they would have been down 3-0 in the series. Instead, they are now only down 2-1 in the series after this win and have the chance to tie it up again in Game 4.
Guentzel showed during his short stay with the Hurricanes that he is a star offensive talent. In 17 regular-season games with the Hurricanes this past season, he had eight goals, 25 points, and a plus-16 rating. He then followed that up with four goals and nine points in 11 playoff games for Carolina.
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